Addiction and Behavioral Neuroscience

Clarksville, TN

The courses I am enrolled in will discuss the therapeutic and pharmaceutical strategies for addiction treatment with a complex understanding of an addiction’s behavioral and neurobiological effects on the brain. My program combines a scientific perspective of addiction with the psychological and philosophical perspectives behind addiction recovery, focusing on treating the body as a being rather than a disease. This program focuses on incorporating public health coursework with sociology classes to address the drug epidemic and focus on public policy and healthcare reform.

Within my course, I include opportunities for addiction research and an internship with a local addiction rehabilitation center to learn how genetic, family, social, and community factors can contribute to the prevalence of addiction within a population and outcomes for addiction prevention and recovery.

Psychology, Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, Public Health, Sociology, and Child and Family Studies

After graduation, I will attend medical school with the hopes of becoming a physician with a specialty in addiction medicine. After, I plan to practice in metropolitan or rural areas where communities are often the most at-risk for addiction.

I am passionate about the intersectionality between community addiction trends and public healthcare reform, both of which, when addressed, can end the cycle of generational addiction that so frequently targets at-risk and minority populations. Additionally, I am passionate about incorporating an emphasis on lifestyle medicine - that is, incorporating meditation, diet, hormone balance, and exercise into mental health treatment - with a focus on preventative therapy for the family and children of those with addictions to end the cycle of addiction.

N/A

I plan to study abroad in Ireland as a part of the Haslam Scholar 2020 Cohort during the 2023 Winter Term.

Undergraduate Research Assistant for Relationship Aggression and Addictive Disorders (RAAD) Lab, Free Medical Clinic of America

Haslam Scholars Program, Emergency Room Medical Scribe, Resident Assistant, Brain Exercise Initiative, Pursuit Journal of Undergraduate Research, Alpha Omicron Pi, Phi Beta Kappa Society